Earring construction



. Sept. 3, 1946'. P. A. RAlcHE I EARRING CONSTRUCTION Y Filed oct.' 29, 1945 f vez; for

Patented Sept. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT Y OFFICE- EAnRrNG CONSTRUCTION 1 Paul A. Raiche,:l\lorth Providence, R. I. Application october 29, 1943, ,serialV No. 508,201

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to the jewelry art, and has particular reference to the construction of earrings.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel clamping device for an earring.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamping device for an earring made of resilient material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rubber suction grip for an earring.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a simple, easily manufactured and readily assembled earring clamp which can be made at low cost, and which will grip the ear lobe tightly without binding.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in View, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side view of an earring equipped with the novel clamp;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the earring clamp;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the resilient gripping element; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan View of Fig. 3.

It has been found desirable to replace the screw type metal clamp used for earrings, which requires a large number of manufacturing operations, with a simpler construction adapted to grip the ear lobe with a resilient suction grip. To this end, I have devised a resilient tip, preferably made of rubber, which may be readily secured to one arm of the earring clamp, and which is provided with an ear lobe engaging tip end adapted to exert a holding grip, the resilience of the tip and its pressure against the ear lobe being controlled by a resilient pressure member preferably formed integral with the tip.

Referring to the drawing, an illustrative earring I0 is shown in Fig. 1, having an ornament I I, which may have an ornamental pendant, and a retaining clamp I2. The base I3 of the retaining clamp, as shown in Fig. 2, is preferably of U-shaped resilient metal, having one arm I4 to which the ornament I I is secured, as by soldering; the inner face of the arm I4 is provided with a rounded enlargement I5 for engaging the inner surface of the ear lobe, and the inner face of the other arm I6 has a retainer plate I1 secured to it, as by soldering, the retainer plate having its edges I8 bent or swaged over to grip the base flange 20 of a resilient tip 2| the base flange constituting the rim portion of the resilient tip.

The resilient tip 2|, see Figs. 3 and 4, is preferably made of rubber, and may be of any desired shape, the illustrated embodiment being of cuptype cone shape with the upper cone end 22 forming an ear engaging portion which is slightly hollowed out to provide a suction recess. The use of a cup-type shape permits the inclusion of a resilient; support element 23, preferably formed integral with the tip, and preferably of sufficient length to contact the plate Il with its lower end and of sufficient width to exert a substantial pressure for retaining the cone end 22 in iirm contact with the outer surface o-f the ear lobe, the hollow closed chamber formed by the resilient tip 2| in conjunction with its retainer support plate providing a distortable ear lobe engaging element which is soft and yielding, while providing irm contact.

The described construction thus discloses an earring clamp having a small number of readily manufactured and assembled parts, namely, a resilient U-shaped base and a resilient contact tip, a plate or other securing device being utilized to lock the resilient tip to one arm of the U-shaped base. Since the tip is soft and resilient, the clamp is readily attached to an ear lobe; when the clamp is slipped over the ear lobe, which thus is the clamp retaining element, the tip is resiliently held in place by its suction end, and is resiliently urged against the ear lobe by the resilient center member, wherefor the clamp snugly grips the ear lobe with minimum discomfort to the ear.

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of my invention particularly suitable for earrings, I do not wish to limit the invention to this particular use, as other uses, such as for example for gripping and display devices, may be made by those skilled in the art. Changes in the material of the parts, and in their arrangement, may be made to suit different requirements for resilient gripping devices, Without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An earring construction, comprising a U- shaped element of resilient material having two arms adapted to grip an ear lobe therebetween, a resilient tip on one arm extending towards the other arm, said resilient tip comprising a hollow cup-shaped element having its edges anged for securing to said one arm, the outwardly extending upper portion having a suction recess, and a. re-

silient reinforcing element extending towards the flanged base.

2. An earring construction, comprising a. U- shaped element of resilient material having two arms adapted to grip an ear lobe therebetween, and a resilient tip on one arm extending towards the other arm, said resilient tip comprising a hollow cup-shaped element having its edges secured to said one armthe` outwardlyv extending uppery portion having a suction recess.

3. A resilient tip for an earring, comprising a hollow cup-shaped element having its edges:

a hollow cup-shaped element :having its`V edges'v flanged for securing to an earring seat, the upper portion being inwardly curved to provide a suction recess and having a resilient reinforcing element extending towards the flanged edges.

5. In an earring, a U-shaped element having two arms adapted to receive an ear lobe therebetween, one of said arms having means for mounting an ornament thereon, and the other of saidarms-comprising-a support. plate, and a hollow cup-shaped elementof'resilient material having a rim portion at its lower end and an ear lobe engageable upper end, said rim portion being mounted on said support plate, the upper end of the'hollow-cup-shaped element being directed towards, the ornament mounting arm for providing a distortable closed chamber.

PAUL A. RAICHE. 

